Penn St. players want Larry Johnson named permanent head coach

Larry Johnson has long-filled several crucial roles for the Penn State football program.

His latest is leading the Nittany Lions as an interim head coach until a permanent replacement for Bill O’Brien is named, quite possibly at some point next week. A primary goal is trying to keep Penn State’s successful, 19-member recruiting class together, to be finalized a month from now.

This is a similar position to the one he held in January 2012, when he helped oversee day-to-day operations and recruiting while O’Brien finished coaching the New England Patriots into the Super Bowl.

But Johnson’s value at Penn State goes much deeper than as an organizer and coordinator in tough times.

He also is regarded as one of the top defensive line coaches in the nation and had tutored seven first-team All-Americans and several NFL prospects over the past 15 years, from Courtney Brown to DaQuan Jones.

Plus, he has been arguably the top recruiter on staff for years, particularly in the Maryland and northern Virginia areas, where he was a high school head coach.

And he also is often referred to as a father figure to many players. The behind-the-scenes member of Joe Paterno and O’Brien’s staffs, the North Carolina native can deliver a powerful, Southern Baptist-style sermon to alumni clubs or recruits’ families.

He and his wife host regular player barbecue functions at their home. And each of their three children played varsity sports at Penn State, including Larry Jr. and Tony Johnson, both football standouts.

But is he head coaching material?

Johnson, 61, interviewed for the job late in 2011 before O’Brien was hired. It is unclear whether he would even be interested now.

“If Coach Johnson wants to get into the mix, he will be very much welcomed and considered,” Penn State athletic director Dave Joyner said during a Thursday news conference.

Certainly, his players believe he should. A slew of them, mostly defensive players, have been stumping for him as Penn State’s next head coach via Twitter.

“I know me and many other players would love to have coach Johnson as our head coach, he’s a great leader and will be a great head coach,” tweeted defensive end Deion Barnes.

“Man, it would be great if they (give) Coach J a shot, been there through it all bro,” tweeted defensive tackle Austin Johnson.

“Nice to hear that keeping Coach Johnson as our head coach could be an option. No one knows us or the school better,” tweeted Jake Kiley, a backup defensive back-turned receiver.

And former defensive tackle star Devon Still, who left for the NFL after the 2011 season, put this on Twitter about Johnson:

“I’ve NEVER in life met a man other then my father that I knew I could always count on...the one coach I know would do anything for his players and put his career on the line to fight for something he truly believed in...

“We all speak about hiring a coach that’s going to be loyal to the program, so why not be loyal to a coach who has done so much for this program and give him a shot at being HC?”

For now, Johnson will be the point person for this incoming recruiting class, with a handful of members expected to enroll early at Penn State in two weeks. Overall, the keys are defensive tackle Thomas Holley, quarterback Michael O’Connor, tight end Mike Gesicki and a trio of receiver prospects.

Johnson may not be a realistic choice as the next head coach, considering his age and that he has never been a coordinator on the college level.

But he certainly would be valuable as an assistant, if a new head coach is interested. While the next hire will have autonomy in naming his staff, Joyner maintains veto power and said he will encourage the head coach to consider any of O’Brien’s assistants who wish to stay.

Reported front-runners, so far, appear to be Miami head coach Al Golden and Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin as well as possibly recently fired Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano.

Joyner said he would like to hire O’Brien’s replacement within days, not weeks.